Categories:Politics
Posted by Scott Kraus at 01:54:50 PM on February 11, 2009

Now that congressional negotiators have begun hammering out a final version of the economic stimulus bill, unions are targeting Republican Congressmen Charlie Dent and James Gerlachto push them to vote for final passage.

The American Federation of State, County and MunicipalEmployees and Americans United for Change announced they will run radio ads against 21 members of Congress, most in swing districts, who voted against the stimulus the first time, urging them to get behind it.

The ad "Second Chance" points out that more than 11 million Americans are out of work. An accompanying national cable ad intones: "We’re in an economic crisis and Republican leaders are playing politics instead of doing what's right."

You can listen to the radio ad here:Dent Radio Ad Just imagine Gerlach's name where the ad says "Dent" to imagine how it will sound if he's your congressman.

Dent has said he opposes the legislation because it includes too much questionable spending on projects that won't produce jobs, especially in the short-term. Gerlach has cited similar reasons.

Not to be outdone, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has fired it's initial shot over what might become the next big thing in Washington: the debate over union-friendly "card check" legislation.

The Chamber wrote a letter to every member of Congress urging them not to vote for the Employee Free Choice Act, which businesses argue will make it too easy for unions to organize their workers by "effectively eliminating the secret ballot" in union elections. You can check that out by clicking on the link below: